When you want to make sure your platform gets some support, I can't think of a better way to do it than by offering up free Wii U dev kits. I'm guessing this is for the indie crowd instead of the big-name pubs.

hmmm, interesting. What's neat is that the dev kit cost also covers the Unity Engine licensing for the devs. This might be an interesting rise of indie devs on the Wii U due to XBLA, PSN, and Steam growing increasingly irritating to get stuff published on.

I imagine that Nintendo is courting indie devs not because they have to, but because they want to. Development time is quicker, so more content more often, and they're more likely to focus on gameplay rather than spending millions trying to utilize every ounce of power on bells and whistles.

This isn't really a big deal at all. Even Sony and Microsoft are known for doing this. It's really only important to tempting indie developers, but again, the other console manufacturers will be doing this too. Obviously, we've only really been hearing about some reports of this new from indies because Wii U's been available for a longer period of time , whereas indies and the big third-parties are still under strict non-disclosure agreements while working on Ps4 and Xbox 720 fluctuating dev kits. Naturally, we'll begin to hear more about them later on. Of course, I'd bet my soul that indie developer Jonathan Blow received a free PS4 dev kit from Sony.

Nintendo Business Development Manager Dan Adelman reportedly stated earlier this year that Wii U dev kits are pretty cheap. Look it up on Google. In fact, he said they "cost about as much has a high-end PC." Naturally,The big third party publishers can easily afford this. Third parties won't complain even if Xbox 720 and PS4 dev kits cost x3 the price. They'll continue to focus on Xbox and Ps4 for two reasons: similar architecture and an expectation that the Xbox and PlayStation audience will be much more supportive of their games than Nintendo audience would be.

Anyway, apparently devs like Yatch Club Games (the maker of Shovel Knight) received a free Wii U dev kit from Nintendo. I imagine other indie devs lik Nicalis may have also received one for free.

This makes a lot of sense. Dev Kits are pricey for a lot of indie developers. And sometimes just the red tape of applying to be a developer might deter some people. This takes away all the obstacles, and is probably only a negligible expense for Nintendo (since I'm sure they are being selective.)

I bet they'll be watching Kickstarter now and interceding whenever they see something that would be a good match for Wii U or 3DS.

LegendofSantiago wrote:@Shaanyboi they are giving dev kits to indie devs that can't afford them. How is this bad? :/

Because that would imply they didn't want to buy them in the first place? Which doesn't speak well towards developers' attitudes towards the platform. If this is Nintendo being proactive on the matter, that's great, but.... ehhh. I dunno.

They haven't been all that proactive about anything on the WiiU thus far. I have little reason to believe that's changed.

Why the hell would they give free kits to big name publishers? They can afford them just from their snack machine budget. But this is a great gesture to help out (and ensure loyalty and support from) small indie developers who can't afford, or would have trouble raising money for, a Wii U dev kit.

Speaking of which, watched the Yacht Club Twitch gaming marathon they did last night for quite a bit. They're really cool, down to earth guys, and they actually interacted with the people in the chat quite a bit while playing. They even directly answered several of my questions/comments. It was pretty sweet. AND they reached over $100,000+ while I was watching. And they also said that even if they don't get enough for some of their stretch goals, they might still try to do them down the line, and that if there IS any DLC (even though they're hoping to pack everything in the main download it self, like companies USED to), that it would be FREE. They are super fucking awesome, and they have earned a fan in me for life. I just hope they continue to make Wii U titles for years to come.

P.S. People seriously need to quit being so goddamn negative about every single thing that relates to Wii U, and just try for once to actually be enthusiastic and excited for sh*t like this when it DOES come up. You ALL know you're going to get big games on Wii U you'll be excited for. The amount of false gamer anxiety that looms over the internet really does get incredibly annoying......

Devil_Rising wrote:Why the hell would they give free kits to big name publishers? They can afford them just from their snack machine budget. But this is a great gesture to help out (and ensure loyalty and support from) small indie developers who can't afford, or would have trouble raising money for, a Wii U dev kit.

Speaking of which, watched the Yacht Club Twitch gaming marathon they did last night for quite a bit. They're really cool, down to earth guys, and they actually interacted with the people in the chat quite a bit while playing. They even directly answered several of my questions/comments. It was pretty sweet. AND they reached over $100,000+ while I was watching. And they also said that even if they don't get enough for some of their stretch goals, they might still try to do them down the line, and that if there IS any DLC (even though they're hoping to pack everything in the main download it self, like companies USED to), that it would be FREE. They are super fucking awesome, and they have earned a fan in me for life. I just hope they continue to make Wii U titles for years to come.

P.S. People seriously need to quit being so goddamn negative about every single thing that relates to Wii U, and just try for once to actually be enthusiastic and excited for sh*t like this when it DOES come up. You ALL know you're going to get big games on Wii U you'll be excited for. The amount of false gamer anxiety that looms over the internet really does get incredibly annoying......

@ *referring to bold*

Even though we can't stop anyone expressing their opinions, I agree with you. This only breeds a lot of negativity, dualistic arguments and throws everyone off-balance.

As for the topic: I guess I don't have to rely on money to get a kit after all, and nor should any indie developer, if this rumor comes true; the indie scene will be 'the' place for new creativity and new talent. ^_^ However, before I earn one of those kits in the future, I, myself, don't have the appropriate tools to achieve this goal, yet. I still need to gain a lot more knowledge about game development first.

Sweet. Does this mean we'll get to see Phil Fish's Fez and Team Meat games on the Wii U?

...Naaaaaaaaaah.

Devil_Rising wrote:P.S. People seriously need to quit being so goddamn negative about every single thing that relates to Wii U, and just try for once to actually be enthusiastic and excited for sh*t like this when it DOES come up. You ALL know you're going to get big games on Wii U you'll be excited for. The amount of false gamer anxiety that looms over the internet really does get incredibly annoying......

peenbbb2 wrote:Sweet. Does this mean we'll get to see Phil Fish's Fez and Team Meat games on the Wii U?

...Naaaaaaaaaah.

They flat out don't deserve them. And neither of their games were anything to really write home about in the first place.

@tendoboy1984

Here's the problem with that though. Giving free dev kits to small indie devs who either can't or would have trouble affording one? Seems like a nice gesture, a kind thought, "here guys, we'll help you get started."

But if you start giving free dev kits to big publishers who just aren't making games for your console? You start looking fuckin' desperate. "Uh....HEY guys! Here's a gift....you wanna, you know, make a game for us? Please?"

One presents Nintendo as THE place for young development studios to go for their small (but hopefully awesome) indie projects. That alone could really breath life into Wii U, and could really be something that Nintendo could crow about down the line, that THEY are the console equivalent of Steam (or better), while Sony and MS will inevitably still be assholes to indie devs.

The other presents Nintendo as the guy no one invited to the party, but he shows up with a six pack and a party hat anyway.......

Hiltz wrote:Third parties won't complain even if Xbox 720 and PS4 dev kits cost x3 the price. They'll continue to focus on Xbox and Ps4 for two reasons: similar architecture and an expectation that the Xbox and PlayStation audience will be much more supportive of their games than Nintendo audience would be.

Ugghh.....

P.S. People seriously need to quit being so goddamn negative about every single thing that relates to Wii U, and just try for once to actually be enthusiastic and excited for sh*t like this when it DOES come up. You ALL know you're going to get big games on Wii U you'll be excited for. The amount of false gamer anxiety that looms over the internet really does get incredibly annoying......